Les Délices Artistic Director Debra Nagy, "a baroque oboist of consummate taste and expressivity” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), teams up with acclaimed harpsichordist Mark Edwards in this new program that explores fascinating connections between the musical poetry of François Couperin and the profound expression of J.S. Bach.
When it comes to understanding what music of the past may have sounded like, original instruments can sometimes be our best teachers. Host Debra Nagy draws from “her rolodex of superb musicians” for this episode that puts special focus on woodwinds in the Classical era. Chamber music for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn by Mozart, Reicha, Krommer, and others reflect shifting aesthetic values, experimental technologies, and newfound virtuosity.
By turns joyous and introspective, virtuosic and lyrical, Bach’s brilliant Advent cantatas Schwingt freudig euch empor (BWV 36) and Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 62) pair heartfelt sacred texts with soaring strings, brilliant oboes, and the crystalline texture of one-per-part voices. An all-star cast of vocalists and period instrumentalists brings Bach’s unique compositional voice to vivid life. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear Bach’s cantatas live in Cleveland!
By turns joyous and introspective, virtuosic and lyrical, Bach’s brilliant Advent cantatas Schwingt freudig euch empor (BWV 36) and Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 62) pair heartfelt sacred texts with soaring strings, brilliant oboes, and the crystalline texture of one-per-part voices. An all-star cast of vocalists and period instrumentalists brings Bach’s unique compositional voice to vivid life. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear Bach’s cantatas live in Cleveland!
By turns joyous and introspective, virtuosic and lyrical, Bach’s brilliant Advent cantatas Schwingt freudig euch empor (BWV 36) and Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 62) pair heartfelt sacred texts with soaring strings, brilliant oboes, and the crystalline texture of one-per-part voices. An all-star cast of vocalists and period instrumentalists brings Bach’s unique compositional voice to vivid life. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear Bach’s cantatas live in Cleveland!
A Baroque musician, Ottoman music enthusiast, and multi-instrumentalist, Daphna Mor guest curates this episode exploring connections between east and west. As the Ottoman empire reached the zenith of its power in the 17th and early 18th century, a craze for Turkish art and music swept across Europe. Reciprocal influence meant that European musicians including Dimitrie Cantemir and Wojciech Bobowski (also known as Ali Ufki) worked in the Ottoman empire composing new works and transcribing traditional music into western notation. Oud player Kane Mathis helps us understand the building blocks of Ottoman music and Turkish violinist and multi-instrumentalist Ceren Türkmenoğlu shares her fascinating and beautiful work, which inhabits both European and Turkish classical traditions.
SalonEra highlights queer artists working in the realm of Baroque opera, delving into how issues of representation, community, and queer love are reflected in the plots and vocal writing of 17th and 18th century works for the stage. Featured guests to be announced.
Chamber Music for Winds and Strings by Mozart and His Contemporaries
Music before 1800 presents Les Délices’ acclaimed concert Winds of Change, featuring virtuoso flutist Emi Ferguson. Join Les Délices for this all-instrumental program of riveting chamber works from the eve of the French and Haitian Revolutions. Inspired by philosophical ideals of liberty and equality and early abolitionist writing, we pair Classical Era works by Joseph Bologne Chevalier de St. Georges and Luigi Boccherini with Haitian composer Sydney Guillaume’s commission A Journey to Freedom.
In recent years, the Haitian Creole song ““Lisette quitté la plaine” has become a major part of baritone/scholar Jean-Bernard Cerin’s professional life. In this episode of SalonEra, Jean-Bernard traces the history of this song text and explores how the song shifts in meaning as it travels around the globe and is transformed by different musical communities. Through Jean-Bernard, “Lisette” becomes a lens through which we can explore the dynamic, fraught history of Haiti and its occupiers.
“Radiant” soprano Sherezade Panthaki debuts with Les Délices for a sumptuous program of French baroque cantatas that celebrates the sensuous abundance of nature. Clérambault’s pastoral confection L’île de Delos welcomes listeners to an island paradise where wisdom and pleasure are in perfect harmony. Rameau’s more dramatic Le berger fidèle is studded with keening dissonances and chromaticism, vividly portraying a shepherd’s distress at the goddess Diana’s dictate that he sacrifice his lover. Instrumental music by Rebel and Couperin complete the program.
“Radiant” soprano Sherezade Panthaki debuts with Les Délices for a sumptuous program of French baroque cantatas that celebrates the sensuous abundance of nature. Clérambault’s pastoral confection L’île de Delos welcomes listeners to an island paradise where wisdom and pleasure are in perfect harmony. Rameau’s more dramatic Le berger fidèle is studded with keening dissonances and chromaticism, vividly portraying a shepherd’s distress at the goddess Diana’s dictate that he sacrifice his lover. Instrumental music by Rebel and Couperin complete the program.